PlayStation 4 to arrive before next Xbox

The next PlayStation console, colloquially referred to as the PlayStation 4 but codenamed "Orbis," is to arrive before the new Xbox, according to new reports.

News site VG247 cites an unnamed source in predicting that the PlayStation 4 will get the jump on Microsoft's machine, at least in terms of release timing.

The Xbox 720 -- again, an informal term, with the codename "Durango" -- is to launch in time for Christmas 2013, according to information previously published by VG247, with key development studios briefed in February. Sony is believed to be holding its own developer summits in May and June.

Nintendo's successor to the Wii, known as the Wii U, was treated to an official announcement at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June 2011, though representatives for both Microsoft and Sony have indicated that their own machines won't be subject to the same treatment at this year's event.